The PM has forgotten his former principles of frugality, – lean and clean government

I am most perturbed and disappointed by our Prime Minister, Mr Moses Nagamootoo.

I am now a pensioner and used to be an ardent follower of the politics of this country and therefore would have heard enough from this man to draw conclusions. I have heard him speaking up to the last 2015 election campaign when he boasted about his frugal lifestyle and his penchant for a lean and clean government and his dislike for extravagance. I have listened to him speaking about the sacrifices he made for sugar workers and his attacks on the pension of the former President Dr Jagdeo.

Even when he crossed over to the AFC I thought that these ingrained principles would make him an incorruptible beacon in that party. However, my confidence began to wane when I heard him extolling the virtues of the PNC, a party which he aggressively fought and had written against.

Unfortunately, as soon as the coalition won the 2015 General Elections and he took office as the Prime Minister of this country his principles took a landslide into the abyss of egocentricity. Nowadays his speeches are just centred on himself. Now he is silent about the plight of the sugar workers, while his salary and his eventual pension will be bigger than Jagdeo’s.

On many occasions when the Prime Minister visits Berbice he targets two places, Courtland Village where his wife was born and Whim Village where he was born. What is glaring is that the sirens of his entourage can be heard from a far distance. He is normally accompanied by slew of staff and bodyguards totalling as many as thirty. However, this is not all. Before his arrival a team of security has to search and secure the area and its perimeter to ensure that it is safe from any threats to the PM. Imagine a man who once could roam freely in every nook and cranny in Berbice now feels that his life is under threat. The siren, the entourage and the security measures are just a waste of taxpayers’ dollars and are against what he had stood for. Even Mrs Nagamootoo travels in the same high style when she visits her birth-home at Courtland.

I have witnessed President Granger travelling with far fewer staff and pretensions. The President has no blaring sirens and his security detail is minimal. I have also never seen the former PM, Mr Samuel Hinds travel with such pomp and ceremony.

23 hours ago

Dear Editor, From my understanding of a press statement made by the Minister of Finance which was seen by me for the first time in 2017, old age pensioners countrywide were to benefit from a tax exemption on their savings accounts.

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